Human trafficking conversation to take place Oct. 9

The HartBeat ensemble performed at the Martin Luther King Celebration in Glastonbury last January, and will return with a piece about human trafficking on Oct. 9. File photo by Steve Smith.

The HartBeat ensemble performed at the Martin Luther King Celebration in Glastonbury last January, and will return with a piece about human trafficking on Oct. 9. File photo by Steve Smith.

Steve Smith, Staff WriterReminder News

What can you do about human trafficking here in Connecticut?

The Glastonbury Martin Luther King Community Initiative is best known for its large celebration of King's life each January, but the group also hosts several Community Conversations throughout the year. The group is presenting a frank event that sheds light on the very modern problem of human trafficking, which hits closer to home than most people realize.

The event is centered around a performance by Hartford-based theatrical activists, The HartBeat Ensemble, which includes scenes inspired by Raymond Bechard's book "The Berlin Turnpike: A True Story of Human Trafficking in America."

GMLKCI's Diane Lucas explained that the event is a continuation of King's belief and famous quote that "whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

"The fact is that sex trafficking in Connecticut is considered modern slavery," Lucas said, explaining that bringing a topic such as trafficking into the light helps people connect with others. "What we're trying to do is evoke that humanity in and amongst ourselves," she said. "I think this is a perfect fit for our community to keep the conversation going. People assume that when you talk about sex trafficking in Connecticut, that it's about foreign people being trafficked, when it's people from our communities."

While there aren't any known cases of human trafficking directly in Glastonbury, Lucas said that it has taken place in the greater Hartford area, so it is rather close to home. Also, there are warning signs of people who may be targets for traffickers.

"Young people who feel disconnected are vulnerable," Lucas said. "As much as it might not be specific to the town of Glastonbury, it certainly is occurring on the Berlin Turnpike and the Silas Deane Highway right now. "

HartBeat's presentation will include performances based on sex-trafficking survivors they interviewed to write their piece.

"They are going to act as if they were involved with trafficking," Lucas said, of HartBeat's performers.

After the performance, there will also be a panel discussion including the cast, as well as William Rivera, who spearheaded the creation of DCF's human trafficking response system, and Arati Sureddi – the founder of the Lotus Alliance, a social enterprise addressing human trafficking and forced labor through the funding of job training for adult survivors of human trafficking.

The discussion will include opportunities to learn about how citizens can help with the struggle against human trafficking.

"We also plan to have an action piece, with opportunities to volunteer," Lucas said. "If they happen to be an attorney, they could use their services with one of the groups that works on human trafficking, or if people want to make a donation to Community Partners in Action, which helps people who have been a victim of sex trafficking, as they re-settle into the community."

"Riding the Turnpike" Modern Slavery in our Neighborhood, our State will take place at 7 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the Riverfront Community Center, 300 Welles St. in Glastonbury.